Two Roads, One Destination
by Spoopysis
Summary: Izuku may not have a quirk but he has the greatest friend in the world! ... Too bad she lives on the other side of the world.
1. Apart

AllMightJr74 posted: Quirkless Heroes

Hi, I'm quirkless and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about People who went Pro without quirks! I've done some research and there aren't any in my country's hero registry. Does anyone know about Pro Quirkless Heroes in other countries? I really want to be a Hero when I grow up and I'd really like to know about them!

TechPrincess replied: I'm just like you!

I was born without a Quirk as well! I've never met anyone else like us, and I haven't heard of any pros who share our condition either. But I think it's possible with a lot of hard work!

Melissa hadn't expected AllMightJr to reply as quickly he did, or at all for that matter. She also wasn't expecting him to be as excited as she was to be talking to someone else like her. Within a few days the two were messaging each other at odd times, talking about heroes or support tech. She learned his name was Izuku, he was 5 and lived in Japan. They were both fans of All Might and lived with one parent. She told him about her Uncle Toshi(with a few details omitted to keep him from freaking out) and he told her about his friend Kacchan. They shared pictures and gushed about heroes with each other. Talking to Izuku about their shared experiences was a breath of fresh air. Normally people would treat her with kid gloves, as if she was made of glass. Izuku loved to geek out over her blueprints with her, pointing out potential additions that might extend the usefulness of the prototype.

Despite him being a few years younger than her, he was quickly picking up on quirk theory and analysis. He made observations that she didn't consider at all, like he was picking apart the quirk and examining each component. She thought that it was odd that he was so incessant on Heroics. He could accomplish much more in Support instead. Only a few weeks into their friendship, her curiosity led her to ask why he chose that route.

TechPrincess: Why don't you just go into Quirk research? it's safer.

AllMightJr74: ...

AllMightJr74: it feels like i'd be givin up.

AllMightJr74: it's like, if someone needs help, I couldn't just stand aside and do nothing.

AllMightJr74: sorry I know it sounds dumb, I wouldn't be able to do anything to help but

AllMightJr74: would it really hurt to try?

TechPrincess: huh.

She thought that over for a moment. Briefly a memory of her uncle's words bubbled up. Her father was his hero… maybe she could be Izuku's hero? If he wouldn't give up heroics, maybe she could help make his dream a reality? Maybe he would never be in the top ten, but he could still set a whole new precedent for heroics around the world.

TechPrincess: I guess I understand that.

TechPrincess: Izuku... I want to help you.

AllMightJr74: Wait really?

TechPrincess: yeah!

TechPrincess: Like I said, I think that you can be a hero!

 _I'll be your Hero, Izuku!_

After his conversation with Melissa, tentative sketches of a possible Hero Costume slowly began to fill his notebook. Izuku would sometimes send ideas of gear and receive excited messages back from Melissa. Reading her ideas about how to prepare for a hero course filled him with hope, like he was watching All Might's debut video. He felt excitement at her suggestions and support, she was just as fascinated by quirks and heroes as he was, and they often spent hours messaging each other about the heroes they saw.

Izuku began observing the quirks in his class and discussing them with Melissa when they had the time. Kacchan became a regular topic of debate between the two as Izuku believed his quirk was potentially very powerful and would save a lot of people. Melissa argued that as the quirk developed it could cause more property damage than it would defend. The debate was always lighthearted but Izuku felt his stance start to shift a bit.

"Deku, think fast!" A ball slammed into the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. His notebook tumbled out of his hands.

Kacchan jogged up behind him, laughing. "Wow Deku, I even gave you a heads up... What's this?" He reached down and picked up Izuku's notebook. Izuku tried to snatch it back but was shoved back to the ground. Kacchan flipped through a few pages as his friends began to approach. "'Hero notes for the future'? Do you really think a Quirkless loser like you is gonna be a hero just with a bunch of scribbles. Heroes need to be strong, not wimps like you." He flipped through a few pages as his friends stopped Izuku from rising from his spot on the ground.

"Give it back!" Izuku squirmed as the pair giggled at his torment.

Kacchan laughed and started reading the notes out loud. "Look he has one on me! Katsuki Bakugo, Quirk: Explosion. He sweats nit- nitro- ni-tro-gly-ce-rin and ignites it. The quirk man-I-fests on his palms... Who's 'melissa'?" his good mood evaporated as he read over Melissa's theory of potential repercussions of overuse.

Words like 'early onset arthritis' and 'chronic dehydration' that held no meaning to the preschooler outside of the vague negative tone that accompanied them. Confusion and anger made themselves apparent on his face. "Y'know, I'll do you a favor Deku." He cupped the notebook in his hands and activated his quirk.

Time crawled to a stop. Izuku's notes crumbled to ash in front of his eyes. Shock sent him into a mental spiral as the burned pages fell to the ground and were viciously stomped on. The caretaker seemed to finally notice what was going on and made her way over. He didn't hear her or Ka- Bakugo. The pair of cronies backed off at her approach, allowing Izuku to crawl forward and grab the remains of his notebook.

AllMightJr74: Hey Melissa

TechPrincess: Morning Izuku!

AllMightJr74: I lost my notebook... A bully took it.

TechPrincess: Oh no!

TechPrincess: Are you ok?

AllMightJr74: I'm fine

TechPrincess: I wish I could be there, if Uncle Toshi heard about that he'd give that bully a good talking to :(

AllMightJr74: its fine. the caretaker talked to his mom and she got me a new one.

AllMightJr74: but I lost all my sketches

TechPrincess: :( he sounds like the worst

AllMightJr74: He is...

AllMightJr74: Anyways, did you hear about All Might's new Sidekick?

TechPrincess: Oh yeah! his quirk is so cool!

AN: some slight edits to this chapter, mostly dialogue and Bakugo's characterization.


	2. Crafting

"Hey dad, could you look at this?" David poked his head into the small workshop he'd had built for Melissa. With her growing skills it seemed right to give her her own space to build and learn. He didn't expect to find her hunched over a bulky and clunky mask. She held it out to him, beaming. "I think it's finally done! Could you help me test it?"

"Of course," He pulled up a chair and began to examine the mask a little closer. It was built to cover the lower half of a person's face, with vents on either side of the face. Flipping it around he found an adjustable strap and air filter. "Ah, is this a gas mask?"

"Sort of! Its a present for my friend. It's part of a set." Melissa pulled out a box of busted prototypes from under the workbench. "I think I figured out why they keep spontaneously combusting."

David wished he hadn't left his safety goggles in the other room.

He cleared his throat and held the mask a bit further away from his face. "So this friend of yours, does this have to do with their quirk?"

She stopped rummaging through her partially assembled gadgets. "Actually... he's quirkless. I'm making the gear so he can use it to protect himself."

"Melissa," he set the mask aside and pat her on the head. "I'm glad that you have been talking to someone else about this, but I'm sure that your friend doesn't need something so complicated. Besides, you'd need to patent this first. Support gear needs a liscense to be used by the general public. Your friend could get in trouble if they got caught without one."

Melissa's shoulders slumped in disappointment at that. "Oh, I forgot. I was just so excited to make him something useful..."

Without missing a beat, David flashed her a smile to grab her attention. "How about we go visit your friend? I'm sure they'd love to see what you've been working on."

In a flash, Melissa's cheerful demeanor returned. "Yeah!"

"So, where does he live?"

"Japan."

"… Let's get the patent first.

* * *

Inko peered into the empty computer room, noticing the dim light of the open chatroom. She slipped into the room and closed the door behind her so that she wouldn't be disturbed when Izuku returned from his playdate. The chat seemed to be inactive, the last messages seeming to be about some pro heroes from different corners of the world. There were a few shaky clips of hero battles here or there but the chat was mostly talking about the heroes use of their quirks.

She continued to scroll up and saw a picture of a mangled hunk of metal. The other person in the chat said; 'The present blew up again ;('

Izuku responded by telling them; 'you should try focusing on another project, maybe you're just stuck.'

'but I want to finish this! once its dine you won't have to worry about that bully anymore!'

Inko froze. Was this person talking about making actual Support gear to give to Izuku? He was only six! That was incredibly dangerous, who did this person think they were? One by one, possible outcomes flew through her mind, each one getting more and more disastrous. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths to calm herself.

Once she managed to steady her nerves she continued to look through the chat, noticing quite a few more mentions of Support gear and the other person confessing to live of I Island. Curious, Inko searched up I Island.

'I Island is an artificial moving city constructed by the leading Support Companies from around the world. It was constructed as a project city that is run entirely off of renewable resources and is home to the world's top scientists. Quirk Scientists who live there work closely with heroes all over the world. The HUC base of operations is located on the island. The security system on the Island is state of the art but the companies still employ heroes to act as security for special events such as the I Expo.'

She heard the front door open and exited out of the browser. "Inko! I'm back and I brought your kid!" Mitsuki said something that she couldn't hear, apparently to Izuku.

"Oh, Thank you Mitsuki!" Inko closed the door to the study as she left, locking it.

The blonde woman looked exhausted. Izuku slipped past Inko and made a beeline for the bathroom. She blinked in confusion at his behavior. "What happened?"

"Ah," Mitsuki crossed her arms. "They had a bit of a... disagreement."

"What about?" Izuku was normally so well behaved. Her mind briefly reminded her of the 'bully' the person Izuku was speaking to mentioned. She smothered the thought. Not Katsuki, he was Izuku's closest friend!

"About that... Katsuki started it. Izuku was being an angel like always but Katsuki mentioned his... condition."

Inko flinched, guilt surfacing. "I... see. Thank you for looking after him."

Mitsuki waved goodbye and left. Once she was gone Inko took a deep breath to calm herself. Izuku had probably seen enough of her tears...

She turned and saw Izuku heading to the computer room with fresh bandages on his hands. "Izuku? Can we talk for a bit?" He seemed a bit confused but he still obeyed. Inko knelt down to his level. "Izuku, I saw you were talking to someone on the computer earlier... Who were they?"

"It's just Melissa, she's... like me." Izuku didn't meet her eyes.

"You can't trust someone just because they said they're Quirkless. They could be lying... what if she want's to hurt you!" Inko felt the fear from earlier well up again. "What if she's lying about who she really is, Izuku? It's too dangerous."

"No mom, she wouldn't. She's my friend!"

"I thought Katsuki was your friend."

"Why would Katsuki want to hang out with a Quirkless nobody?" Izuku sounded bitter.

Her heart squeezed in her chest. So Izuku went to Melissa before her... She didn't even know what her own son was going through. Did he not trust her? Did she fail him so badly? "Izuku... She was making you support gear... It's because of Katsuki isn't it."

He said nothing.

"Why didn't you tell me? I could have talked to Mitsuki about it... I wouldn't have sent you on playdates there if you'd spoken up."

Izuku rubbed his arm, ashamed. "... But you like Auntie Mitsuki. I didn't want to mess that up for you..."

"Izuku..." She scooped him up. "I... If you want, we can see about transferring schools for you. Please just talk to me about this." She felt the shoulder of her shirt become damp as Izuku sobbed into it.

* * *

' _A phone call... is here! A phone call... is here! A phone call... is here! A phone...'_ Toshinori barely glanced at the caller id when he answered, knowing there were only a few people who had this number.

"Hello?"

" _Toshi?_ " David asked. " _It's been a while!"_

"Dave! It's been so long, how have you been? How's Melissa?" Most people would probably feel a bit awkward talking to their Ex after such long radio silence, but the pair still had an amicable relationship. Besides, they were both very busy people.

" _Ah, She's actually the reason I'm calling! See, she made a friend! and I was planning a trip so she could meet them in person."_

"Were you hoping I'd tag along as back up?" Toshinori began thinking over his schedule for the next few weeks, trying to find a good spot to make time for them.

David laughed. " _Am I that easy to read? I can' t help but worry you know. So, will you?"_

"Of course, Old friend! I'd love nothing better than to see you both again!"

Toshinori exchanged a bit of small talk with him before ending the call. He sighed and returned to his computer. A few keystrokes later and an email to one of his friends in the police department was on it's way, requesting some information on the person Dave had told them they would meet. it was the least he could do to help them.


	3. combat

The next few days, Izuku spent with his mother. They talked about what Izuku wanted to do and here he wanted to go. His mother was happy to hear that her reaction to his quirklessness didn't kill his passion for heroes. When he expressed a desire to learn combat she hesitated but soon relented.

"The terrible thing I said kept bothering me. I gave up on you back then... But you didn't. So, I'm going to do my best to support you from here on. No matter what you have to promise me you'll always come home safe."

Inko had gone to several different instructors hoping to find one that would accommodate Izuku's Quirklessness only to be met with rejection. After almost a week Inko managed to find an instructor with very open qualifications located in the saitama prefecture. It was ridiculously far but the Instructor invited them to sit in on one of their classes, seemingly unfazed at Izuku's lack of a quirk.

Izuku could barely sit still on the train ride there.

Shimizu-sensei was very tall with pale blue hair that seemed to defy gravity, with a face that was creased from smiles and laughter. They greeted every student at the door and chatted with their parents about their progress. Izuku's mother was very shy when she approached them. "I'm Inko Midoriya, and this is Izuku. We spoke over the phone."

Their eyes lit up with excitement. "Ah yes! You wanted to observe one of my classes." They crouched down to Izuku's height, looking a bit like a frog about to leap. "Your mother told me you want to be a hero?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah just like All Might!"

"Admirable determination there kiddo! Heroing is hard work even with a quirk." The last part was spoken softly, as if they were sharing a secret. A bit of their excitement died when they spoke again. "I've had a few students like you before, not all of them had the determination you do. I accept students without judgement but slackers who can't keep up are dropped."

He looked up at his mom, then thought of Melissa. He couldn't let them down and if that meant working twice as hard to catch up he wouldn't hesitate. "I won't slack off, sensei."

A few moments later, Shimizu-sensei was happily instructing the class to pay Izuku and his mother no mind. "They're just visitors for today. I hope you will show them the same respect you show me. Now, I'd like for you to pair up and practice disarming your opponent."

Izuku watched enraptured as Sensei demonstrated graceful yet powerful movements. Their students would follow along carefully, repeating the movement again and again, with Shimizu sensei correcting their stance as necessary. "Remember to listen to your body. If the stance feels wrong, your balance maybe off. In a fight, a trained opponent will notice this and take advantage. Again." The students continued to practice until Sensei called them to disband from their groups to give a demonstration for Inko and Izuku. "You are all some of my best students so I expect you to prove your worth."

"Yes Sensei!"

Izuku watched the two selected students spar for a bit before one knocked the other down. His mother gasped and grabbed Izuku's hand in fear. He gave her a light squeeze to assure her.

"Katou, Good work. Maki, I noticed you trying to use your quirk towards the end there... While I understand the reflex behind it, incorperating your quirk to suit your style is something you should practice on your own time. I'll overlook this once as it's your first offense but next time I will be speaking to your Sister." Maki muttered an apology as they rose from where Katou knocked him down. "Our time for today is up. Good work everyone."

The class dismissed. Shimizu- sensei took a seat in front of Inko. Izuku watched his mother collect herself. "Would Izuku have to do any of that sparring? It seems a bit much."

"This is my advanced class for his age group. He would have to work up to it from the beginner class. My classes are separated by age and quirk type to keep accidental quirk usage to a minimum. I would like to put Izuku in the emitter group if that's all right with you Midoriya San."

Inko looked to Izuku. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Izuku beamed. "I promise I'll work super hard, I'll be your best student."

Shimizu sensei laughed. It was bright and open, their eyes twinkling with delight. "Who needs a quirk with determination like yours? That fighting spirit is exactly what I like to see."

Inko's eyes softened. "Alright, Izuku. But remember your promise."

* * *

TechPrincess: Izuku, guess what!

TechPrincess: ? Izuku?

AllMightJr74: sory, I've been busy.

TechPrincess: Oh!

TechPrincess: What with?

AllMightJr74: you first

TechPrincess: Well I got my first patent

(1) image(s) attached

TechPrincess: More importantly your presents are done!

AllMightJr74: Oh wow! they look really cool, Me-chan.

TechPrincess: Me-chan?

AllMightJr74: Oh...

AllMightJr74: I was trying to give you a nickname

AllMightJr74: i guess i'll try something different.

TechPrincess: No!

TechPrincess: I like it!

TechPrincess: Anyway, what have you bee up to?

AllMightJr74: Oh i started training!

AllMightJr74: My Sensei says they used to be a pro hero too but they retired

TechPrincess: That's amazing!

TechPrincess: umm... my dad wanted to know if he could ask your mom some things.

AllMightJr74: Sure, i think she wanted to talk wit him too

TechPrincess: great that works out!

* * *

" _H-hello?"_

David cleared his throat. "Ah, hello Mrs. Midoriya. My name is David Shield, your son and my daughter have apparently become friends right under our noses."

" _Mr. Shield, It's nice to speak with you for the first time. I hope you understand that I'm a bit apprehensive about all this."_

"I understand. I was concerned myself, you never know who's on the other side of a screen." Midoriya hummed in understanding. "Thank you for allowing me to reach out to you. I wanted to ask if you were open to the idea of allowing them to meet."

The other end of the line went quiet for a moment. " _I'll have to think about it._ "


	4. Training

Inko allowed her mind to wander a bit more than she should have. Talking to David had put her on edge. Parents of Quirkless children, who weren't Quirkless themselves, were fairly hard to find. As the amount of Quirkless people in the world grew smaller, many parents opted to keep their children closer to home... if they allowed them out at all. She'd heard stories of parents abandoning their children once they heard their diagnosis. Others who neglected their children until they left or died while focusing on their more able siblings.

She was relieved that David didn't seem to be like that.

David had seemed kind enough that she agreed that it would be ok for the children to continue chatting. Inko had even exchanged a few words with Melissa before she asked to talk with Izuku and the pair commandeered the phoneline.

 _Maybe I should get Izuku a phone so he doesn't have to sit at the computer so much just to talk with Melissa?_

She paused, realizing that she'd been chopping at already sliced onions even thinner.

 _But... what about... school?_

It would be wrong to pull Izuku from school entirely. He was a smart child- too smart for Inko to take over his education. Finding the right place for him would be hard. Maybe somewhere close to Shimizu's dojo? That would make the commute there much shorter. At his first lesson she'd be sure to ask them about it. After a little more research she'd discovered why they'd been so willing to take him in...

So much was changing. Her mind was alight with plans and possibilities. Izuku _would_ achieve his dream, it was his right to try at the least. With so many people already in his corner supporting him nothing would stand in his way.

* * *

"We're moving to Hasuda to be closer to Shimizu's Dojo." Izuku jolted at the news. "After we move you can start at your new school." His mother picked at her food awkwardly, as if she was unsure. "Izuku, if you're still having... troubles. I want you to tell me or your sensei. Can you do that for me Izuku?"

He agreed in his excitement. Moving was scary but it was worth it if it meant he could follow his dream. Maybe there might be someone who would look past his quirklessness and want to be his friend?

Walking into his first class a few days later, he realized why Sensei's classes was separated the way it was. He'd arrived a bit earlier than necessary and ended up catching the end of the mutant type class. The way the students moved was completely different from the emmiter students. Some of the student moved completely differently from each other but still somehow still in sync. Some of them had extra limbs that they moved along to put more power into their movements. Others who had horns or claws or other pultruding parts seemed to move so that the mutation would not affect their strikes.

Shimizu sensei was demonstrating a move for one student who seemed to be struggling, the child copying their movements clumsily but still very focused on watching them. Izuku sat down a ways from the students. None of them seemed to notice him and they continued to practice the same movements over and over. Eventually a few parents started to show up to pick up their children. Sensei grabbed their student's attention by snapping a few times.

"Alright everyone, excellent work! Continue practicing what you've learned today, your strength can only be honed through adaptation. What doesn't work should be re-evaluated and repaired. I'm looking forward to seeing you all next time." Shimizu-sensei waved the students off towards their parents.

They glanced over to Izuku. "You're very early."

"I was worried I might be late so I tried to come as early as I could." Izuku blushed a bit in embarrassment.

"Hmm... It's all the better. I was hoping to speak with your mother about other skills for you to learn eventually, show me what you can do already."

Izuku spent the next few minutes feebly punching and kicking at the air in front of him, copying moves he'd seen heroes on the new do. He ended tripping over his own feet while trying to do a spin kick. Sensei crouched down in their frog like manner, eyes glimmering with some amusement. They helped him stand.

"Y'know, some of those those seemed a bit too complicated for someone your age. You shouldn't try to copy moves without understanding them, you can hurt yourself that way." Sensei stood. "I notice you favor punches so lets start there. Hold your fists like this, and have your left foot forward with the right aligned with your hips."

He copied her stance, feeling a bit strange. Pushing his right foot back a bit more seemed to ease the oddness, he curled his hands into fists and raised them to copy Sensei. Sensei seemed pleased and proceeded to demonstrate the rest of the move with practiced ease. He copied the rapid strikes and Sensei nodded in approval. "I expect you to continue to practice that, even after you've learned more complex moves. Muscle memory is very important to any hero, even the ones who do not always fight."

"Shimizu Sensei?"

"Yes, Midoriya?"

"Why are you okay with teaching me?"

They froze mid-punch. For a moment Izuku worried that they were angry with him for asking such a question. But instead they laughed, sinking to the floor. "Sit with me." He did. Sensei raised their arms and a mist began to condense in front of them. "My quirk is not made for fighting. When I was your age, people without quirks weren't so hard to find. Parents didn't hide their kids away from the world while treating them like invalids. There was never a Quirkless hero but that didn't stop kids from trying. Heroes weren't as respectable as they are now. Now they all want to be the next All Might." The tiny cloud took the shape of All Might for a moment, "I understand the sentiment but not a lot of people understand what he means. All they see is a powerful quirk and when the greatest hero is known for just his quirk, people start to see powerful quirks as a badge of heroism.

"A quirk doesn't define who you will become. I was expected to enjoy making clouds dance for my whole life, but I had other plans and I pursued them. I knew people with powerful quirks that went into quiet office jobs and ones with weak quirks pursue heroics."

Izuku pondered that for the next hour. Throughout the lesson he thought abought their words even as the class began and Sensei demonstrating and explaining a different move for the rest of the class. If so many others had tried to become hero before him why could he stand a chance? What could he do that so many others couldn't? Was Sensei only humoring him by letting him join their class?

At the end of the class, his body felt sore from repeating the same motions over and over. He wandered up to sensei after class. "You said I wasn't the first Quirkless student you've had, why did they leave?"

Sensei seemed genuinely surprised by that, their near constant smile dissolving. "You're pretty clever, Copycat. They don't stay because their parents take them away. My classes allow students to spar during class for practice and once they learned about that they took them home and didn't come back. "

"So you think that I can be a hero?"

"I wouldn't be teaching you if I didn't. I also wouldn't suggest you put that mind of yours to use." Sensei ruffled his hair, their grin returning. "You need everything you've got to take on high school entrance exams. Hear they're pretty intense."


End file.
